JOURNAL of Humanities, Culture and Social Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2018 ISSN 2393 – 5960; ISSN – L 2393-5960, pp. 10-25 wo conservative prefects: Nicolae P. Guran and Constantin Radu Geblescu1 T Mirela-Minodora Mincă-Mălăescu, Ph.D.c. Counsellor, Romanian National ArChives, Dolj County Department Romania [email protected] Abstract In the present study we approaCh the aCtivity of NiColae P. Guran and Constantin Radu GeblesCu, two of Dolj County prefeCts from the end of the 19th Century, and the beginning of the 20th Century. Two Conservatives, whose activity was foCused on the supporting of the rural education and Culture, they also Considered that the issue on addressing the modernisation of Romania Could be aCComplished only through the eduCation of the rural population and the improvement of the living Conditions (Coord. ACad. Gheorghe Platon: 2003: 191-207). The building of sChools and hospitals, the spreading of Culture through education and the learning of minimal hygiene norms were few of the objectives of the two Conservative prefeCts, who supported finanCially, from the budget of the County, the ConstruCtion of sChools and hospitals, along with the reorganisation of the Superior Trade SChool, where the Children from the rural areas were obtaining high qualificationforms. NiColae P. Guran and Constantin Radu GeblesCu filled the position of prefeCt in Dolj County, between the 12th of April 1899 and the 14th of February 1901, respeCtively the 24th of DeCember 1904 and the 12th of MarCh 1907. Keywords: activity, prefeCt, Dolj, Guran, GeblesCu. 1 The present study is part of the doCtor degree researCh project: The institution of the prefect in Dolj County, during the reign of Carol I, Carried outbetween 2015 and 2018, within the SoCial Sciences Faculty. Two conservative prefects: Nicolae P. Guran and Constantin Radu Geblescu| 11 Nicolae P. Guran (12th of April 1899 – the 14th of February 1901) Nicolae P. Guran (b. February 18 1860) (S.J.A.N, file 24/1860: f. 2) was born in a family of Craftsmen and traders from Craiova. The son of PetraChe andEleneiGuran, he attended the primary and seCondary Courses in Craiova (Coord. Mariana Leferman, Gabriela Braun, Adrian Năstase, 2005: 158), and in 1878, he got his baChelor degree at Bucharest (Petre Ghiăcioiu, 1905: 59). He finished his studies at Paris, where he obtained his liCenCe degree in law, in 1866 (Petre Ghiăcioiu: 1905, p. 59; George Mil. Demetrescu, text and postface by BianCa Maria Carmen PredesCu, 2015: 148). On the 26th of March 1888, he applied for the registering in Dolj Bar Association (George Mil. Demetrescu, text and postface by BianCa Maria Carmen PredesCu: 2015: 113), having his application approved. During 1895 and 1899, he was a designated member of the CounCil of DisCipline (George Mil. Demetrescu, text and postface by BianCa Maria Carmen PredesCu, 2015: 128) of Dolj Bar Association, a position from which he resigned after his friend Take Ionescu had been appointed prefect of Dolj County (“Voinţa naţională”, 1899: 1). After his appointing as head of the County administration, Nicolae P. Guran went in many inspections in the Communes from Dolj County, visits that allowed him to establish the exaCt needs of the population. His activity in the territory was remarked even by King Carol I, who reCeived him in a 40 audienCe on the 17th of June 1899(Ana-Maria Rădulescu, 2005: 24.). Fulfilling his attributions provisioned by the laws, the prefect drafted, in October 1899, a report, on addressing the situation of the County, in which he inCluded all the aspects of the social, economic and Cultural life, met or remarked in the administrative-territorial units that he was Coordinating. Thus, as regarding the administrative side of the County2, the prefect was showing that there were 5 administrative Circumscriptions in his subordination– plase, which made 157 rural communes made of 217 hamlets and an urban commune (Calafat), with a population of 311,036 dwellers, among which 159,343 men and 151, 693 women. In the administrative area, the prefect thought it was necessary the re-establishing the Capitals of each administrative department, in the Central Communes (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 4). 2 The presented situations do not offer information on addressing the city of Craiova, due to the fact that this urban commune was subordinated and reported its situation directly to the County Council. 12 | Mirela-Minodora Mincă-Mălăescu He brought the agricultural situation under the attention of the County Council counsellors and president, remarking: “only a part of the crops from the fall of 1898 and the spring of 1899 can be considered less than satisfying, on another piece of land there was not produced anything, the cause being the draught that came upon us”(Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 5). Moreover, the head of the County administration was of the opinion that the lack of the variety of Crops was not only irrational, from the scientific point of view (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 7), but also dangerous, from the economic regard (NiColae P. Guran, 1899: 6), mentioning that there should be imposed a regulation that would obligate each dweller to grow a part of the land they own, with flax seeds, hemp, beetroot or fodder plants, and the Crops to be established acCording to the nature of the soil (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 6). Furthermore, the prefect was mentioning that “concerned with the state of the things that menace to bring hunger among the rural population, the government and county counsellor approved the necessary means that would help the dwellers who would lack food”(Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 6), a loan of 400,000 lei, and the government awarded for Dolj County, from the fund of Carol-Elisabeta settlement 3,000 hectolitres of Corn, which were distributed freely to the needy ones (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 6). On addressing the public hygiene and health, in the report for the prefect, the main doctor from the County was ConCluding that, subsequently to the Checking he Carried out on his on in the territory, the rural population had not been affected by epidemics, the health state was a relatively good one, and in some Communes the Conditions of hygiene and salubrity were appreCiated as being bad. The same doctor was appreCiating that there was the duty of the County to take urgent sanitation measures (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 7) of the ponds from Certain Communes of the County, works that needed to be made through the Technical Service, a department that Charged with the identification of the means of exeCution and Cost. In the same report, doctor Drăgescu was reporting that: the medical doctors who worked for this County department performed 1,912 inspections in the Communes from their suborder, provided mediCal services, at the domicile of 24,907 ill people, and in the hospitals from Filiaşi andBechet there were treated 831 ill people, among which 545 were Cured, 12 of them passed away, and for the rest their health Condition was improved (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 8). In the report, there were also mentioned and medical Care that the patients enjoyed, in the Two conservative prefects: Nicolae P. Guran and Constantin Radu Geblescu| 13 hospitals from Craiova, Calafat andBăileşti, 8,675 of them (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 9). Presenting the acComplishments from the sanitary area, Nicolae P. Guran was mentioning that, during 1899, the County Hospital of Filiaşi was installed in a new building, but the institution lacked furniture, an area for Contagious and ophthalmological diseases, seCtions that needed to be Created (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 8). Moreover, the prefect was reminding the CounCil that, for the inauguration of the hospital under ConstruCtion from the Commune of Brabova3, there was necessary the alloCation, from the County budget, the sums necessary for furniture, bedlinen and medical instruments (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 8), but it was also extremely necessary to be “provisioned” money for: the supplying of the portable pharmacies of the doctors, for free Consults, for fighting against different epidemics, for the sanitation works, in the Communes that laCked finanCial means (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 8). Approaching the subject of culture, Guran was remarking that, it is as obsolete as in the previous years, and the progress is a very slow and insignificant one. On addressing the Cult of the population, the protoereuof Dolj County was appreCiating that, in 1899: “the total number of the churches is of 267, among which 183 parishes, and the rest are 84 associated churches” (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 8). There were excluded from this reportthe Churches from the urban Communes. From the total number of the Churches, 4 were under ConstruCtion, 19 were Closed, being in an advanCed state of degradation. PraCtically, there were only 244 funCtional Churches, in which 166 priests, graduates of the 1st degree seminar, three 2nd degree graduates, 20 supernumerary priests and 338 were Carrying out their activity psalm readers (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 13). When ConCluding on the situation presented by the Deanery of the County, there Could be notiCed the following: in many of the Communes from the County there were no Churches; many of these were in an advanCed state of degradation; there were ChurChes without the priests that would officiate the masses (Nicolae P. Guran, 1899: 13). Considering that, only through eduCation, the condition of the man from the countryside could be improved, the prefect of the County supported and took measures that would lead to the modernisation of the eduCational process, and the inCreasing of school attendanCe. From the presented report of the school reviser, onCe with the opening of the 3 The hospital from the Commune of Brabova was built on the land donated by Constantinn Radun GeblesCu, future prefect.